Atlas (Pillar of Heaven)
titanThe Titan condemned to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders at the western edge of the world for eternity.
The Myth
Atlas was the son of Iapetus and Clymene, brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He led the Titan forces in the Titanomachy, and for this Zeus condemned him to stand at the western edge of the world and hold up the sky — not the earth, as commonly depicted, but Ouranos itself, the dome of the heavens. His name may derive from the Greek a-tlenai, meaning to endure or to bear, making him the Endurer. Heracles encountered Atlas during his eleventh labour, seeking the golden apples of the Hesperides. Atlas offered to fetch them if Heracles would hold the sky. When Atlas returned, he tried to leave Heracles trapped, but the hero tricked him into taking the burden back momentarily. Perseus later turned Atlas to stone using Medusa's head, and the Titan became the Atlas Mountains of North Africa — his body becoming the ridge that supports the African sky.
Fun Fact
Atlas holds the sky, not the earth — the common image of him carrying a globe is a Renaissance misunderstanding.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Atlas
titanThe Titan who was condemned to hold the celestial sphere on his shoulders for eternity. His name...
Epimetheus
titanEpimetheus was Prometheus's dim-witted brother whose name means "afterthought" — he accepted...
Iapetus
titanIapetus was the Titan whose sons shaped humanity's relationship with the gods more than any other...
Menoetius (Titan)
titanA Titan struck down by Zeus for his hubris and violent temper during the war between Titans and...
Titan War (Titanomachy)
titanThe ten-year war between the Titans and the Olympians that reshaped the cosmos and established...
Clymene
titanAn Oceanid-Titaness best known as the mother of Prometheus, Atlas, and the other sons of Iapetus...
Menoetius
titanA second-generation Titan struck down by Zeus for his violent pride during the war between gods and...
Heracles (Labours)
heroHeracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a...
Hesperides
nymphThe Hesperides tended golden apple trees at the western edge of the world.
Medusa
creatureA winged Gorgon with serpents for hair whose gaze could turn any living creature to stone. Once...
Titanomachy
conceptThe ten-year war between the Titans led by Cronus and the Olympian gods led by Zeus, resulting in...
Epimetheus (Afterthought)
titanThe Titan whose name means afterthought — he accepted Pandora despite his brother's warning,...